MARION — Marion Town Administrator Geoff Gorman likes to hit the ground running every day. 

“I try to show up early, before the building opens … I like to have that quiet time.”

During his first month on the job, Gorman has been in nearly “non-stop” meetings, getting to know the heads of different town departments, learning the ins and outs of Marion, and diving headfirst into his position. 

“It’s not really an eight-to-four job,” said Gorman, sitting at his desk in the Marion Town House. “It’s more when I can get here and when I can leave.”

Gorman was hired by the Marion Select Board to replace James McGrail, who became Middleboro Town Manager in October. 

Since 2017, Gorman worked as the head of field service for the northeast region at MilliporeSigma, a biochemical company located in Burlington. Gorman also served for 27 years in the United States Navy.

Before his official start date on March 1, Gorman spent a month driving to Marion from his home on Cape Cod to meet with the Marion Police and Fire Chiefs, Old Rochester Regional Superintendent Mike Nelson and Marion Finance Director Judy Mooney. 

“I had a pretty good understanding of what [issues] I needed to knock out as soon as possible,” said Gorman. “I would definitely be behind the power curve if I ignored everybody and then rolled in here on March 1 ready to go.”

Gorman said he already has “plenty on his plate” to keep him busy, but that the experience has been “fun.”

Already, he identified a number of short-term and long-term goals. 

“We have three contracts up for negotiation … the [Department of Public Works], police and the clerical unions are all up for negotiation,” said Gorman. “My immediate goal is to get those started.”

As a self-described “process improvement guy,” Gorman also hopes to conduct a policy review and “understand and examine our interdepartmental processes,” with the goal of filling any gaps and improving the workflow of the town.

“The current staff does an amazing job of taking care of all that,” said Gorman. “But I think they have to work a little bit harder because it's not efficient, so we'll work on those efficiencies.”

Gorman is also judging the “appetite” of town employees to have the Town House open for an additional amount of time each day, “to help support the citizenry, especially towards the summertime.”

“We're just going to try to continue to make those human-sized steps to this [becoming] a better and better town,” he said.

In his office, a whiteboard is filled with potential projects to tackle and ideas to pursue — all with the blessing of town leadership. 

“I really appreciate the trust that the Select Board’s put in me to allow me to not only learn my job, but to give me enough leeway to put my little stamp on things.”

But even with big plans to improve and maintain Marion, Gorman said that one of his favorite parts of his job is meeting new people. And this summer he looks forward to meeting town residents and experiencing summertime traditions.

“I'm definitely looking forward to the Fourth of July Parade and the town party on Silvershell Beach,” he said. “It's [all about] meeting more people and being involved with as many activities as I possibly can … there's nothing better than summer” on the South Coast.